New One True Love
by Sewa
Summary: At her request, he used compulsion to make her want to kiss him...Now Rose is left thinking that it was all a bad idea. Have the effects of the compulsion completely gone? Or did they trigger feelings she always had?  R&R please?
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so this story begins when Rose asks Adrian to use compulsion on her to make her want to kiss him. The rest is all me :)**  
><strong>Hope you enjoy! Please review; good or bad :)<strong>

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing; its all Richelle Mead**  
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_"I want to kiss you, Rose," he said softly. "And I want you to want me too."_

_Every aspect of his body—his lips, his hands, his scent— suddenly overpowered me. I felt warm all over. I wanted him to kiss me with every ounce of my being. _

_There was nothing in life I wanted more than that kiss. I tilted my face up toward his, and he leaned down. I could practically taste his lips._

_"Do you want to?" he asked, voice still like velvet. "Do you want to kiss me?"_

_Did I ever. Everything around me had blurred. Only his lips were in focus._

_"Yes," I said. His face moved closer, his mouth only a breath away from mine. We were so, so close, and then _he walked away.

He walked AWAY.

He walked away?

I blinked several times, then focused my eyes on his retreating form. The effects of the compulsion were gone in an instant, but the memory of it lingered. I don't recall ever wanting something more in my whole life. It wasn't real, but in that moment, every microscopic part of my body, soul and mind wanted his lips on mine.

I shook my head. "What the hell was that?" it wasn't my voice, but Christian's.

I turned to him, pursing my lips. "Just trying something out."

"Clearly," he said flatly as the bell rang. "Come on, let's go find Lissa."

"Yeah," I simply agreed, then followed him, my mind still on Adrian and my almost-kiss.

I lay in my bed, under a tangle of sheets.

It was Sunday, so once again I was free of Christian. This meant that I had to find something to distract me; I knew all the things he and Lissa would get up to, and I did _not_ want to be an unwilling voyeur. I mean, sure, I'd know what was going on anyway, but that didn't mean I wasn't going to _try_ and distract myself on top of blocking Lissa out.

I dragged myself out of bed, had a shower and after getting dressed, I decided to go for a walk. I went off into my own world, vaguely aware that my feet were still moving. I didn't realise that I was walking towards the chapel until I was a few yards from the entrance.

I frowned, going in. Why the hell had my legs brought me here? I searched the rows of pews and noticed a familiar head of shoulder length brown hair. Dimitri. Always Dimitri.

He was sitting in the back, staring straight ahead, a peaceful look adorning his gorgeous features. I half expected my heart to jump out of my chest like it usually did, but this time, it didn't. Yes, I felt it racing…..but it was different this time….and I couldn't figure out why.

I slid into the pew behind him and sat not directly behind him, but to his left. Knowing he hadn't seen me, I smiled; hell yeah…I'm a friggin' ninja.

"It's one of your days off, and you choose to spend it at church?" Damn. My ninja skills were a bust.

"Is that so surprising?" I tried to keep the smile from my voice.

"Do you need to ask?" he said. He turned, our eyes meeting; his held amusement and curiosity.

I felt my insides come to a standstill. Neither my lungs nor heart found it important to function at that moment. Dragging my eyes away from his, sure that I would collapse if I didn't, I shrugged.

"Maybe I just wanted to be with you…?" it was more of a question than a statement.

He turned back to the front, stood up abruptly, then walked out, knowing that I would follow. I fell into step beside him, keeping quiet. It wasn't an awkward silence; it was a comfortable silence. There was no need to talk because we were just content…being together.

Though why wasn't it as comfortable as it usually was? I sighed, annoyed at myself. What was happening? "Stupid girl," I muttered.

Dimitri eyed me questioningly. He was about to ask me something when Stan came up behind us. "Dimitri, Alberta has called a meeting. We need to plan…_things_."

Dimitri turned from Stan to me. He opened his mouth, about to apologise for having to leave me but I stopped him by shaking my head at him, letting him know that he had nothing to worry about.

He nodded. "I'll see you later."

Shooing them off, I wondering what those "things" were. I decided to walk around campus some more, but then got a little tired and after getting something to eat, I went up to my room and plopped down onto my bed.

My feet seemed to heave a sigh of relief; I had practically been walking since I woke up. I lay back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. _Dimitri_. My thoughts seemed to always be on him. _Dimitri_.

My eyes closed, sleep somehow taking over, before I felt the all too familiar signs of one of Adrian's dreams. "Damn!"

I was standing in the middle of the cafeteria. It was eerily silent. Without thinking, I grabbed the nearest chair and sat down; this may have been a "dream", but I was still tired from all the walking around I'd done.

"Adrian," I called out. "This _may_ come to you as a surprise, but I'm tired and want to sleep."

"But you are sleeping." He said with a smile, seemingly coming out of nowhere. He took a chair and sat opposite me. "Besides, you have to explain to me what the other day was about."

I tried to look indifferent. "What happened the other day?"

I felt my breathing hitch slightly as he turned serious, his intense green eyes boring into me. "Don't act like you don't know. Why did you want me to use compulsion to make you want to kiss me?"

I thought for a few seconds before coming up with an answer. "I wanted to know what it felt like to be under the influence of your compulsion; especially when it was more direct."

He considered my answer. If he did or didn't believe me, he didn't say. Instead he sighed, looking away from me. "You don't know what you do to me, little dhampir."

"No," I swallowed. "I don't."

"You," he started, quietly. "Have inexplicably charmed me more than any spell _ever_ could."

I sat there, breathing heavily, sure that my heart had skipped a thousand beats.

He looked up at me suddenly, "I really wish I would get the hang of using spirit to heal."

He had just done the typical Adrian thing, and changed the topic to something _completely_ unrelated. Did he realise what his last sentence had done to me? How it had affected me?

"Well, I've got what I came here to get; you've answered my question. Though I doubt that was your true reason." He stood up, and brushed his lips over my forehead. "Sweet dreams, little dhamphir…..though I find it hard to believe they could get any sweeter than this." He added the last part with a lazy smile, before the dream ended.

I woke up a little while after that and shook my head as a shocking revelation hit me.

I was falling for Adrian Ivashkov.

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><p><strong>*gasp!* jeez Rose, it ain't the end of the world! haha...<strong>

**Hope you enjoyed. Don't forget to leave a review on your way out!**

**i might update reeal soon, k? :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Yaaaay! Thanks to all of you who read and reviewed, or added me to your Story Alerts or Favourites list! You guys make me soo very happehh :P**

Anywhoo…on to the story! :) :)

**Disclaimer: Its all Richelle Mead :) **

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><p>"Damn!" I muttered under my breath as my feet moved me forward. This was just about the scariest thing that had ever happened to me in my short but eventful life. Give me a bunch of Strigoi and I'll take care of them no problem; tell me I'm falling in love with Adrian Ivashkov and the world is coming to an end.<p>

It wasn't that falling for him was scary; it was falling for someone…_other than_ Dimitri. I had convinced myself that he was the one; my only love. We loved each other and that was just how it was.

But then….

"Ugh! Damn it!" I muttered again. _Screw you Adrian_, I thought. _Screw you…screw me! Screw the world!_

"What's with you?" Eddie had somehow materialized beside me and was wearing a look of curiosity and worry.

I blinked at him then sighed, frustrated, "Its nothing. I'll get over it." _Hopefully_.

He looked unconvinced, but nodded. "You looking for your Moroi?" I was silently gratified that he didn't push me for more info. He was cool like that…

I cracked my knuckles, nodding slowly at him as we continued walking. "Yeah….I'm just heading to his room now."

Eddie nodded, a smile forming. "So you two getting along now or…?"

"Hardly." I scoffed, "But yeah…I think we're okay."

He chuckled lightly and I felt myself relax a little. "Ok, well...that's good to hear."

We had almost reached Christian's dorm and he was already standing outside waiting for me. This got me a little annoyed; "Christian, what the hell?"

He looked up at me as I jogged over to him. "What?"

"What are you doing outside? You could've been attacked!" I skidded to a stop in front of him, then quickly surveyed our surroundings. No sign of any "Strigoi".

"I just got here!" he argued lamely.

My nostrils flared, "Never again, Ozera. It's too risky; even if I'm only working half-time, we need to be careful."

He clenched his jaw, but then sighed, exasperated. "Alright, fine!" I sighed, surprised he didn't argue as much as I thought he would have. "I'm hungry though, so we need to go to the feeders."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I was hungry too. But alas, they come first; they always come first.

I turned my gaze to Eddie, who stood beside me. He had watched our exchange with a look of pure amusement. "I should go find Lissa."

"Oh okay. Well she's still in her room….smart girl." I could see Christian roll his eyes at me.

"Okay then, see you two whenever." Eddie turned on his heel with a smile and headed towards Lissa.

Christian and I watched him go, both eyeing his blond retreating form curiously. I suppose it was just out of habit. We all worried about him sometimes; wondered if he really was as okay as he let people believe.

I quickly turned to Christian and cleared my throat. "So…to the feeders?"

He pursed his lips and began walking rather brusquely. "I didn't really have a chance to go yesterday…"

I gave him an incredulous look. "Why not? What were you doin—scratch that! I _don't_ want to know what you were doing."

His expression turned smug. "You already know what I was up to."

"Doesn't mean we have to talk about it! _Jeez!_ You had the whole day! I know for a _fact_ that Lissa would've let you go to the Feeders." I shook my head at him, ignoring the laughter in his eyes.

He shrugged, "Hey, I get to be completely alone with her only _one day_ of the week! Excuse me for skipping a meal to be with my girl."

"Well excuse me for—" My words caught in my throat and I could feel my eyes widening. My steps halted as my breathing became almost nonexistent.

There he was, standing in front of the commons; his slim, attractive figure, dressed in warm, well fitting clothes. A striking green scarf leisurely wrapped around his neck, his—

I mentally slapped myself, realising where my thoughts had taken me. I wasn't helping myself in anyway. Christian cleared his throat beside me and my gaze snapped over to him.

He eyed me curiously, then looked over at the figure in the distance, then back to me. I shifted nervously, scowling as he raised an eyebrow at me. "Well…."

"_Well_ what?" I ground out after a short moment.

He simply shrugged, then continued to walk, a small grin gracing his lips. My mouth dropped open and I'm sure I heard it hit the ground. There was no getting out of this, and that man-bitch knew it! I groaned out loud, but followed close behind.

When we reached him, it was Christian who spoke first, though his tone seemed stiff. "Did you just feed?"

The Moroi dropped his cigarette bud to the ground. "Yeah…I'm feeling pretty good now."

Christian nodded, hunger in his eyes. "I'm not; I need to get in there." I made to follow him but his hungry demeanour seemed to vanish as that irritating grin spread across his face. "No, its cool, Rose. You hang out here; I'm sure there won't be any attacks right now."

"I'd rather not risk it." I said as pleasantly as I could.

He smiled knowingly at me. "Knowing you, I'd thought you would've jumped at the chance to take a risk. Whatever happened to Risk-taker Rose? This is _very_ unlike you. I have to say I'm disappointed."

"What can I say?…I try."

He raised an eyebrow at me, his smile growing wider. He turned to Adrian who wore a lazy grin with a curious look in his eye. "Hey, you going to train with Lissa today? If you stick around we can all go find her together."

It took everything I had to stop myself from using my bare hand to squeeze the life out of him, and God know that that was hard. This was so twisted! Christian hated that Adrian and Lissa had been spending heaps of time together, and he was even more upset when he found out that Tatiana planned to marry the two off! So it just didn't make sense that he would basically _encourage_ the two to hang out, just to piss me off!

Adrian looked in my direction, but not at me…more like above me, and I knew he was looking at my aura. He agreed to accompany us, then proceeded to hold the door open for both me and Christian, his smile never leaving his face, and his eyes never leaving me.

There were no other Moroi in the feeder's room, which was weird, but a relief. I didn't want to have to wait around with Adrian so close by.

Christian was let into a familiar cubical to feed on his favourite feeder: Alice.

He sat down next to her, and I leaned on a wall, looking pointedly out the window and not….elsewhere. This was kind of pointless because the window had been tinted to keep the sunlight out.

"Hello Christian. You're here with Rose again." she said with a small smile.

"Yeah, we're the best of friends now. Together, _wherever_." He smiled at her, amused, as I swallowed a scoff.

She began talking about something, but I had stopped listening when I saw Adrian approach me. He leaned on the wall next to me and sighed overdramatically, "If I didn't know any better, my dear, I'd say you were trying to avoid me."

Swallowing, I eyed him from the corner of my eye. "No shit, Sherlock. What gave me away?"

He chuckled beside me, "You actually chose coming in with Christian over waiting with me."

Christian had just bitten into Alice and I felt myself grimace, my thoughts going back to Spokane, when the Strigoi Isaiah had snacked on Eddie over a prolonged period of time. We said nothing until Christian was finished.

He licked his lips as he pulled away, and Alice had a small frown on her face, the bliss from Christian's bite leaving her dazed, but wanting more.

He sighed, clearly content. "Come on, we should get going."

I let the two Moroi walk a couple of steps ahead of me once we were out in the open, Christian a little less enthusiastic about this arrangement. I was going to point out that it was his idea to let Adrian tag along, but I decided to let him suffer for a bit.

I knew she didn't like it, but I found myself in Lissa's mind. She was with Eddie and they were coming in our general direction. In fact, if I looked far enough ahead of me, I bet I would have seen them.

Adrian walked rather casually beside Christian, and it wasn't long before the former whipped out a cigarette and lit it.

I wrinkled my nose as the smoke drifted back towards me. "You know, at this moment in time, your smoking isn't just killing you, its slowly killing me too."

Christian glanced back at me, but didn't stop; Adrian, however, slowed his pace until I caught up to him, then walked along with me, his signature lazy smile on his lips. "You worried for my health?"

"More like mine;" I scoffed. "There's this thing called secondary smoking. I don't know if you've heard about it, but basically it means that we could _both_ die if you keep chugging away on those things."

"We could die together…." He sighed dreamily.

"How romantic," I rolled my eyes at him, "Never mind that we die; as long as we die together, its fine huh?"

"Better than dieing alone." He added with a shrug.

"True….but I've always seen myself dieing because of old age…or fighting a Strigoi." I said flatly. "I don't want to die because you killed me with _your_ unhealthy habits. Besides I've known enough smokers in my lifetime that'll probably result in my early, untimely death."

"And what would my life be but a meaningless existence without you. For you, my sweet, I would do anything." He said, his voice like velvet, before stomping out the cigarette.

I tried not to let his words affect me. This was Adrian; he always said this kind of poetic stuff to me.

He raised an eyebrow at me and I realised I really must have been affected; my face felt warm, and I'm sure a blush was there for the world to see. Curse this stupid body and its lack of control.

I had a feeling he was about to say something, but I caught a glimpse of a dark figure out of the corner of my eye, coming from nowhere.

There was no hesitation; there could be none. I grabbed Adrian's arm and dragged him behind me, effectively swapping our positions.

I attacked, quickly kicking the "Strigoi" in the stomach. I knew it was Yuri, and I tried not to think about how hard I'd kicked him. He stumbled back, but recovered as quickly as a real Strigoi would have. I had already pulled out my practice stake when he lunged at me again. I ducked, then kicked him hard in the knee and with a groan, he fell to the ground. Before he could recover, I aimed for his heart and "staked" him.

I had no time to feel pleased with myself as someone wrapped their arms around my midsection from behind. I realised whoever it was must've been running, as momentum pushed us both forward and to the ground. I rolled over so that even though I was on my back, I was on top of my attacker. Throwing my head back, our heads collided. There was a small grunt—it was female—before my attacker's grip loosened slightly.

I ripped myself free and rolled onto one knee, then cursed myself for not getting further away as her foot connected with me face. My head whipped to the side and I swear I heard my neck crack.

I vaguely remember hearing a commotion from nearby and hoped within my heart of hearts that Christian and Adrian were alright. This was hardly a fair fight; I was protecting two Moroi from two "Strigoi". And who was to say that there would only be two? There could be another Strigoi, though I hoped not.

I recovered before she could land another blow—she had gotten to her feet by now—and kicked her feet from under her. With a dull thud, she was back on the ground and within a second, I had pounced on her and "staked" her.

It was now that I got a good look at her face; I recognised her, but couldn't figure out who she was. I'd seen her around, but still…

Getting to my feet, I first looked over at Adrian and Christian who stood a few feet away from me; Lissa was with them and all three were unharmed.

I turned to watch the commotion I had heard earlier and saw that it was Eddie. He was duelling with one of my guardian instructors Emil. He was doing a good job too, though I quickly tuned them out as my gaze came to land on a figure a few feet behind Eddie and Emil.

It was Dimitri.

No. Not Dimitri; right now he was the enemy.

Adrian had noticed this too and he kept looking between us. Dimitri and I, however, held each other's gaze. I was momentarily lost in those dark pools of brown, before I reminded myself I needed to get a grip.

"Shit!" My eyes came back to Eddie, who had had his practice stake thrown a few feet behind him.

He punched Emil hard in the face, and as the latter reeled from the blow, he had, with lightening speed, run and retrieved his practice stake. Emil leaped at him and they continued to spar.

This left me with an unobstructed view of Dimitri. I reminded myself not to get struck by his looks like I always did. We were within staking distance now and I jumped at him. He struck me firmly across the face but I recovered quickly.

We blocked and attacked, my adrenaline higher than I'd ever felt it. It was absolutely thrilling. This wasn't like anything we'd done in training; this was something more. I could feel the familiarity of the sexual tension—and the frustration of not being able to do anything about it—leaking out into each encounter.

There was a ferocity in his movements which I matched. We were so equally matched it seemed impossible to get the upper hand. He knew and anticipated my every move, as I did with him.

I needed an advantage; anything to give me the upper hand. I threw myself towards him, hoping to use my weight to drag him to the ground.

This was all planned out in my head; we'd fall and then we'd struggled, but I'd somehow manage.

What wasn't part of the plan, was a rock; an insignificant object that no one would notice upon passing by. But that wasn't the point; I should've noticed it. Part of being a guardian was being aware of your surroundings.

I tripped on it, but I was able to execute the first half of my plan and use my weight to get us to the ground. Dimitri's eyes widened slightly, the only sign of his shock.

He rolled us over so that he straddled my hips, but before he could pin my hands to the ground I grabbed his shirt with one hand and jerked him toward me. Pulling myself up, there was a thud as I head butted him. Hard I might add.

Hard enough for him to grimace. Hard enough for me to punch him square in the face, then throw him off me and switch our positions. I held him down, and God knows he was strong. He struggled against me, but I used my weight to hold him steady. Fumbling with my stake, I finally managed to hit the mark. I applied the required amount of pressure that assured his "death", and just like that, it was over.

Panting I looked down at him, our gazes locking for a prolonged moment, our faces close, oh so close. His eyes for a moment were proud, caring, _loving_.

I suddenly became aware of the applause coming from a crowd that had accumulated. Yuri dragged me to my feet, satisfaction written all over his beaming face. Emil clapped me on the back, equally pleased.

I was sweaty and still trying to get control over my breathing, but managed a small smile.

Eddie jogged over with a careless grin and I felt my smile widen unconsciously. We high-fived and smiled like idiots. "Nice, Rose."

"You too, man. I knew you and Lissa were nearby, but you got into the fight before I realised you were even here."

He shrugged, "Lissa saw what was going on and ran on ahead of me."

I frowned at this and looked over a Lissa, who was approaching with Christian and Adrian close behind. "You ran towards the fight?"

She pursed her lips. "It was four against one, Rose…what was I suppose to do?"

"Anything _but_ run towards four "Strigoi"!" I snapped. I know it was harsh, but even if this wasn't the real thing, she should've known better.

Eddie looked between us, uncertain. "Its okay, Rose…we handled it, right?"

My expression softening as I looked at her hurt one, I immediately regretted snapping at her. "You need to be more careful Liss…in real life, I can't have you running towards the fight. You need to stay put, unless you're told to get the hell out of there."

"Okay," she nodded. I felt her regret through the bond. It was soon overshadowed by her pride. "You were spectacular."

I hugged her. "Thanks,"

Yuri cleared his throat and I snapped my attention to him. "Spectacularly perfect."

The guardian whom I didn't recognise agreed. "Three on one. Well done."

Emil glanced over at Dimitri. "Your face got a good bashing there."

He rubbed his forehead where mine had made contact. I grimaced at how red and sore his face looked. Yuri caught this and chuckled. "Don't worry Rose, we're tough."

I nodded, slightly embarrassed.

The guardians congratulated Eddie and I once again, before leaving.

Christian grinned and appraised me with an approving gaze. "Nail it."

I smiled at him in spite of myself.

"You were magnificent." Adrian muttered his green eyes boring into my soul. "I've never seen something so amazing."

I gulped, blinking stupidly. "Uh…thanks..?"

He cocked his head to the side, looking me over. "Though I find your ferocity in a fight a major turn on, I hate to say that you look a mess. Its no surprise though, how your beauty is undiminished."

I looked down at myself and frowned. "I do need to clean up."

Lissa looked me over, then nodded. "You go have a shower and get cleaned up. We're already late for class, but we'll see you at recess?"

I nodded at her. "A shower sounds good."

"I'll be happy to assist." Adrian offered.

"Not in this lifetime." I shot back.

He smile as lazy as ever, "Maybe the next? I'm more than prepared to wait."

I raised an eyebrow, "Good. Be prepared to wait forever, pal."

"So soon?" he asked, clearly unfazed. "For you, sweet precious, forever isn't that long."

Was this dude for real? How did he manage to come up with this stuff? It was so corny, yet…..it was doing interesting things to my heart.

I looked around helplessly and Christian raised an eyebrow at my lack of response to Adrian's last remark. He gave me look like "So you can handle being attacked by four "Strigoi", but you can't handle the riles of a love sick teenager?"

"We should get going." Lissa said nervously.

Christian reached down and held her hand in his. "Yeah, lets go. See you later, Rose."

I waved them off, hoping, but not hoping Adrian would go with them. He didn't.

He instead stayed where he was, his smile securely in place. "I still don't know why you're avoiding me…and I'll try to figure it out. But as usual, I doubt the answer will present itself easily. I just can't figure you out."

"And that's a bad thing?" I asked, curious.

He reached out and tilted my face up, toward him. My body betrayed me again as heat rushed to my face.

"For me, yes." He released me after a short pause of eternity, then walked away. "See you little dhampir!" He threw over his shoulder.

Screw this shit! I wasn't falling for Adrian; I'd already fallen! This was beyond some _crush_…this was the real fucking deal!

I kicked at the rock I'd tripped over during my duel with Dimitri, angry at myself for letting my emotions get so…unpredictable.

Heaving a deep sigh, I made my slow, deliberate way to my room.

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><p><strong>It's a pretty long chapter…I hope you like it though! :)<strong>

**And I hope I got the fight scenes okay…I was mega struggling with that :/**

**Anywho…don't forget to REVIEW on your way out! :)**

**~Sewa-san~ **


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay…I KNOWW! And I'm totally sorry….like….times infinity and beyond :/ **

**What has it been, like a year? I suck, you all rock. I shall say no more. **

**DISCLAIMER**: **you KNOW it isn't mine :D**

"_A dream is a wish your heart makes,_

_When you're fast asleep…"_

_~ Cinderella _

_-The Walt Disney Production of Cinderella_

"I want to kiss you, Rose," he said softly. "And I want you to want me too."

Every aspect of his body—his lips, his hands, his scent—suddenly overpowered me. I felt warm all over. I wanted him to kiss me with every ounce of my being.

There was nothing in life I wanted more than that kiss. I tilted my face up toward his, and he leaned down. I could practically taste his lips.

"Do you want to?" he asked, voice still like velvet. "Do you want to kiss me?"

Did I ever. Everything around me had blurred. Only his lips were in focus. "Yes." I said. His face moved closer, his mouth only a breath away from mine. We were so, so close, and then just like that, he released me from the compulsion.

He was about to walk away when I grabbed his arm and stopped him. He took a moment to look at my face and must've seen something there, because soon, his lips were on mine; so warm and so soft, kissing me so gently, so slowly, so NOT what I wanted at that moment in time. I wrapped my arms around his neck and deepened the kiss, considerably picking up the pace. His arms were around my waist in an instant, crushing my body hard against his. Our mouths, moving rhythmically and almost with a sense of near desperation, set the beat as our tongues danced in time.

His hands caressed my hips and lower back, gentle enough to make me feel treasured, but with enough strength to convince me he was holding back and giving me the option, should I choose, to stop at any time.

I moaned, disappointed, when he eventually did brake the kiss, but disappointment turned into pleasure when his lips found my neck, leaving a warm trail of kisses leading back to my mouth. We were both breathing hard at this point and my heart somehow managed to beat faster when he murmured my name between kisses.

"Rose…" It was a whisper, laced with such acute desire that I couldn't believe he hadn't had his way with me yet. And God knows I would've let him.

He pulled back and looked at me with an expression I'd never seen on his face before; it was a look of pure wonder, almost as if he thought he must be dreaming. His lips parted again to say my name and I held my breath, waiting for it, almost begging him to say it the way he had before.

His eyes, so green, so piercing, bored into mine as his warm breath surrounded me, giving me chills, "_Roza…_"

.

.

.

I shot up from my pillow as if I'd just had a bucket of cold, icy water thrown on me. I'd just dreamed of Adrian. A hot and heavy one at that! Holy mother of…. and he wasn't the one behind it. For the first time ever, I had dreamt of Adrian and he hadn't instigated it. That was completely and utterly all me. But calling me _Roza_? That was Dimitri's thing; his and his alone. Was it that my subconscious was trying to make me feel guilty about dreaming of Adrian and not Dimitri?

Dimitri. _OF_ _COURSE_ something Dimitri related would find its way into a somewhat erotic dream of me and Adrian. It's always Dimitri. And yet….

And yet, as I discovered not too long ago, I was 99.9999% sure that I was maybe, most probably, but definitely in love with Adrian. Not _falling_ in love…_IN_ love.

I lay back down and stared up at the ceiling. I wasn't going to get anymore sleep tonight, so I was left with the lingering remnants of my dream, trying to figure out how I felt about it all and wondering what I was even supposed to do. Somehow though, whether I liked it or not, one thing kept finding its way into each and every line of thought my brain came up with.

It had been _my_ dream.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxox oxoxoxo

I tried to put whatever happened the night before, behind me, but the more I tried to push away any kind of thought relating to it, I found myself thinking about it even more. It was like an annoying weed or something; you'd pull one out but then three more would grow back.

Okay, I admit, I'm not so hot when it comes to gardening, but still…

It became apparent that my internal garden battles weren't so secret, when I caught Christian looking at me with his head cocked to one side.

I crossed my arms over my chest, defensively, "What?"

With his elbows on the table, he rested his head on both his hands. "What up with you?"

"What's it to you?" I shot back.

He narrowed his eyes at me before shaking his head and looking away. "Forget it." He sat back in his chair.

I sighed heavily, pinching the bridge of my nose with my eyes closed. "Sorry," Putting my hands on my lap, I looked at him for a bit, "I'm still getting use to….this." I gestured between the two of us at the word 'this'.

By "this" I meant our….friendship? Although I wouldn't go as far as saying he and I were BFFs, we could definitely tolerate each other a whole lot more than before I became his "guardian".

He nodded, with a look of understanding, "It's none of my business, anyways. Lissa didn't notice anything so..." he left the sentence unfinished, instead just shrugging.

Lissa and Eddie had just rushed off so she could go to get a feeding. Surprisingly, her adoring boyfriend actually opted to stay, which surprised I think all three of us, because he actually needed to feed and was the reason Lissa suggested going in the first place.

What he'd said, though, had struck a nerve. Of course, I had an upper hand with the bond; I'd always be in the know when it came to Lissa's feelings, whether she wanted me to be or not. But even without it, I'd know when something was up with her for sure. She was my best friend; of course I'd know. But that should work both ways. _Lissa_ was my best friend and of all the people, it was _Christian_ who noticed that something was out of the ordinary with me.

I tried not to feel disappointed(?) at this, instead concentrating on the person in front of me, who was waiting for me to say something.

"No. It is your business." I watched him raise an eyebrow, but continued, "_Friends_ have a right to ask if everything's okay."

Friends. I had said it. I'd finally put a label on it—on us? — and to be honest, it didn't taste so bad in my mouth.

I scanned the library for any Guardians; I wasn't actually supposed to be sitting down. He scratched his chin, and then ran his hand through his hair. "Kay….and is it? Is everything 'okay'?"

I stifled a sigh, "Yep." I made a popping sound at the 'p'.

He looked unbelieving, but didn't push it; either because he was being a good "friend" or because he was suddenly looking behind me with a dopey smile on his face and a look at complete adoration. I didn't need to turn around or use the bond to know who had come in.

It was when his smile faltered slightly that I felt myself tense up ever so slightly. "Hey, you." He said as Lissa smiled and took a seat next to him. "Adrian." He greeted through his teeth, as the man in question sat down with a nod in answer.

My fears confirmed, I acted as normal as I could without being weird. Catching both Christian and Lissa's gaze, I opened my mouth to ask her where Eddie was, but from the corner of my eye, I saw Adrian leaning back lazily in his chair; I turned to him as he reached up as if to run his hand through his hair, but probably decided he looked fine and let his hand drop.

It was then that his eyes found mine and it was then that I realized that I had been staring at him. Not only that, my mouth had been hanging open, and not only _that,_ Lissa and Christian probably noticed! Shoot me. Now. Please. Like seriously, _right_ _now_.

My mouth shut audibly, and I turned back to Lissa before Adrian had raised one of his perfect eyebrows completely. She looked at him and then back at me, "What?"

"What, what?" Playing dumb, I decided, was my only option at this point. Dumb or die. Die? So dramatic…

She frowned, "What's wrong with Adrian?"

"Hey guys!" An angel, come to rescue me.

"Eddie!" I called, ever too happily.

He came over, standing to Lissa's side, "Sorry, Guardian Belikov needed to see me."

The mention of Dimitri, brought me up short, but it was the voice that finally spoke up that plucked my attention from wherever it was and held on to it. "Ahh, Guardian Belikov. How interesting..."

My jaw clenched. There were only four people in the world that knew about Dimitri and I; Lissa's delusional Uncle Victor, Dimitri, myself…and Adrian.

He'd never tell anyone, of that I was completely sure. He'd known from the first time he saw Dimitri and I together, and had said nothing of it….to anyone else. To me? Different story…

Lissa, bless her soul, had forgotten all about her question to me about Adrian. She tried to make Eddie take a seat, but failed as he instead opted to stay standing. I felt guilty for sitting, so I tried to make up for it lamely by scanning the library a lot more often.

Lissa started talking to Eddie about where she'd need to go after class tomorrow, following up her list with "...if it's okay with you?"

I almost sighed. Of course she'd ask if it was okay if they could go to the library to study tomorrow, as if she didn't already go every other day—we were _in_ the library right now. That would mean Christian would be there, which meant, of course I'd be there too. The library again…yay.

Adrian's quiet voice brought my attention back to him, though it had never completely left. "Sweetest little damphir, your aura is different today."

I eyed him nervously, "How?"

"Well…it's got some colour today." He shrugged as if that was all he was going to say.

I swallowed, "Colour?"

He nodded, unusually serious. "Your aura is most often quite dark, but today…"

"Today?" Well….aren't I Little Miss Articulate. There was also a sense of panic in my voice and I'm hoping my face and aura didn't reflect that.

"Streaks of pink, red, a bit of brown..." he looked between my face and what must've been my aura until it got unbearably uncomfortable.

"And what do those colours mean?" Finally! That was more than one word! Small victories, yo.

He shrugged. "They can mean a lot of different things. Depends on the person. But because I hardly see these colours in your aura, it's hard to say what they mean."

This is good. This is very, very good.

"Has anything happened recently? I haven't seen you since you defended our love against the "Strigoi"." He said the last part with a wink.

I rolled my eyes, "I was defending _Christian_. _You_ just happened to be there."

"Ahh, such denial." He sighed dramatically.

"Me or you?" I snorted, relieved that things were seemingly normal between us. And why would things be? Nothing happened. The only thing that happened was my dream.

Aaaaand thankyou Rose! Now I was thinking of the dream and those things I'd dreamed we'd done. Each time I blinked, I could see him holding me, caressing me….

My face felt hot suddenly, like it was burning, "Gyahuh!" I'm not even sure what that was supposed to be, but I was on my feet in that second.

He was frowning at me, confused, "Rose?"

"Don't!" I'd said it a little louder than I'd meant to, but he'd held out a hand, about to touch one of mine. My outburst shocked him; I could see that on his face as he dropped his arm. I was just…I don't know!?

My raised voice had our companions looking at me, all clearly wondering what had just happened. I looked at Christian, clenching my jaw, "You need to go to the feeders."

"Huh?" he sat forward in his chair.

"You _need_ to go to the feeders. _Now_, Ozera." I was taking a risk here, would he get that I needed to get out of there? Or would he just shoot down any hope I had of leaving.

He looked at me for a split second, before looking at Adrian who practically had question marks in his eyes. And that's when it happened; I watched, with silent regret, as a light bulb went off in Christian's mind.

He stood up slowly, pecking Lissa's cheek before giving me a small nod. "You're right, it's been too long."

I felt Lissa's confusion. _Rose?_ she asked through the bond.

My body gave nothing away that I'd heard her —and her confusion turned to hurt—as Christian and I said our 'see you later's before leaving. I felt like a total idiot ignoring Adrian. From the corner of my eye, I saw him run his hand through his hair, his posture appearing stiff. And did I just hear him huff? Sheesh Rose, nice. Could I have made _anything_ weirder?

.

.

.

Christian kept quiet until we were half way to the feeders, but it really was too much to hope it'd stay that way the whole trip. "Sooo…" he dragged out the word, making it longer than it should've been.

"Sooo…" I did the same.

"Sooo…Adrian."

I cleared my throat quietly, but said nothing. Christian sighed, exasperated. "How long has it been Rose?"

"How long has what been?" Dumb or die, right?

He gave me a dry expression, speaking slowly, "How long have you had feelings for Adrian Ivashkov?"

I stopped walking, and stared at him, completely undecided as to how I was to proceed. He stopped walking too, a few paces ahead of me and waited for an answer. Sighing a short while later, I continued forward. That was the only thing I could do.

And I'd do it with a friend at my side.

Xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo xoxoxoxoxox

**There you go! I hope you liked it :)**

**I'm sorry if people don't seem all that in character. I'm still getting back into the groove of writing :/**

**And the quote by Cinderella in the beginning? I know you wouldn't normally relate Rose with a fairy tale character, but the quote was kinda fitting….kinda :|**

**Guaranteed Rose-Adrian fluff coming up! ;) I'll update a lot more often, yo :)**

**REVIEW PLEASE!?**

**~Sewa**

**P.s. Sorry if I gave you false hope…it was all but just a dream :P**


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